Judge — April 14, 1917 — page 19: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a Kelly-Springfield Tires advertisement disguised as satirical humor, typical of Judge magazine's advertorial content. **The Setup:** A rural character ("Reggie," rendered in dialect) asks a man at the wheel how he knows they're on the right road. **The Joke/Advertisement:** The driver responds that anyone wise enough to use Kelly's tires must be traveling correctly—implying Kelly's tires are a mark of good judgment and reliability. **The Satire:** The humor relies on circular logic and gentle mockery of rural/provincial speech patterns (phonetic dialect spelling was common in period comics). The implication is that Kelly's tires are so trustworthy that using them is itself proof of sound decision-making. **Context:** This represents early 20th-century automotive advertising when tire quality varied significantly and brand loyalty signaled consumer sophistication. The illustration shows a touring car on a country road, depicting the emerging leisure travel culture.